The Laferla Group Sponsors LifeCycle Challenge

The Laferla Group is delighted to be sponsoring this year’s LifeCycle Challenge; a challenge which sees a dedicated team of international cyclists cover an average of 2,000km, all in the name of charity.

The Challenge

The LifeCycle Challenge is organised by the LifeCycle Foundation. Founded in Malta in 1999, the NGO aims to raise awareness as well as to generate support towards patients suffering from end-stage kidney disease (also referred to as renal disease).

The extreme cycling challenge held annually is the foundation’s way of attracting attention to the difficulties renal patients face on a daily basis, while encouraging the public to contribute generously to the cause. The brave cyclists participating in the challenge ride through different countries all over the world in only 10 days. This year, they’ll be riding from Dubai (UAE) to Salalah (Oman) during the month of October.

Every year, the foundation raises about €150,000 for renal patients. The money raised is used to finance the desperately-needed equipment, to subsidize the transport taking patients to and from the unit as well as to fund research. But that’s not all…

A Rare Chance to Travel

Unfortunately, the possibility of travelling is a struggle for anyone suffering from any illness. In the case of renal patients, things get extremely complicated as there are those that require dialysis treatment three times a week. Therefore, such patients would only be able to travel under the condition that in the host country, they’ll have access to machines which will keep them alive. What’s more, due to the strictness that the discipline of dialysis entails, many patients find it impossible to work, thus leaving them with little money to spend.

Due to these challenges, through the funds it raised in the past years, this year, the LifeCycle Foundation also rewarded 15 renal patients with a rare chance to travel to Lourdes, as part of the annual trip organised by the Lourdes Volunteers Association for the sick. In the course of this trip, patients were able to enjoy a change of scene and a breath of fresh air with their loved ones, while at the same time continuing with their usual dialysis treatment thanks to the renal units available there.

Organ Donation

For renal patients, the only hope to be able to live a life without depending on machines is if they are lucky enough to receive a kidney transplant. In 2017, 16 patients received kidney transplants from deceased individuals, another six from live donors (typically close family members) and two from individuals who decided to donate a kidney to strangers out of impeccable benevolence.

As the number of patients requiring organ transplantation by far exceeds the number of available organ donations, any Maltese resident above the age of sixteen is encouraged to register his/her wish to become an organ donor after death. Considering that one organ donor can save up to eight lives, this is undoubtedly the most beautiful deed one could ever possibly commit.

If you wish to become an organ donor yourself, click here to register your wish by filling in the form.